KOZHIKODE: The movement for the Wayanad railway has received a boost with the state government clearing the funds for the detailed project report. Earlier, the Thalassery-Mysore project was given priority as a joint venture of state and union railway ministry. The state government sanctioned Rs 2 crore to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for preparing the DPR the other day. Mr T.M. Rasheed, action council convener of the Nilgiri-Wayanad railway and National Highway, told DC that a major hurdle in the way of the dream project had been cleared.
"A joint company with the state and central government has already been formed," he said and added that the DMRC headed by Mr E. Sreedharan will conduct a final feasibility study. Land would be acquired, width of the line marked and alignment on paper would be trans-shifted to the ground, he added.
Though Rs 8 crore was allotted earlier for the project and DMRC was roped in to prepare the DPR, recently Rs 50 lakh was allotted for the preparatory steps for the Thalassery-Mysore line. Though the UDF government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation for completion of the work costing more than Rs 3,000 crore, a special purpose vehicle is yet to be formed.
